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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
It’s impossible to meet Satoshi Kuwata, the man behind Setchu and the winner of last year’s LVMH Prize, and not be captivated by his story. Arriving in London from Japan aged 21, with scarcely any English and an obsession with British fashion, Kuwata spent his first weeks trying to find an apprenticeship on Savile Row by walking into tailors’ shops and presenting them with a handwritten sign. Later, while working with clients at H Huntsman and Sons, and simultaneously studying fashion at Central Saint Martins, he realised he wanted to bridge the gap between the codes of suiting and modern fashion’s more relaxed approach. He worked for nearly two decades at different fashion houses before launching Setchu in 2020, a hybrid expression of his experiences in both worlds.
This month, Kuwata debuts a collaboration with Davies & Son, the oldest and one of the most venerable institutions on Savile Row, with a collection that draws on all sorts of artisanal details, including origami: its real eureka distinction is that you can fold up the jackets to fit inside a case. As someone who always travels with hand luggage, and who always needs a blazer, this innovation resonates deeply with me – as it will to anyone who has to pack a suit for work. Kin Woo meets Kuwata and Johnny Allen, the head of bespoke at Davies & Son, to discover that even the quaintest environments can sometimes be the fulcrum for radical ideas.
Do you own a paper lantern? One of the most practical, cost-effective and beloved interiors features, the lampshade remains near-ubiquitous in sitting rooms and bedrooms throughout the world. Its relative cheapness has contributed to its popularity, but the real secret to its lasting endurance is that it casts such a beautifully diffused light. I had never thought to change the £2 Ikea orbs that have been hanging in my living room for at least a decade until I read Clara Baldock’s piece about the upgraded versions now available to buy. I’m especially taken by David Horan’s “deckled” contributions to the genre – a vegan recipe – and the eco-resin made by Australian lighting designer Lana Launay; both have a gloriously vellum-like effect.
The Venice Biennale begins next week and so this issue brings together three figures who have a deep association with the city: artist Mark Bradford is working with the Rio Terà dei Pensieri retail project to help rehabilitate prisoners by teaching them skills to help them gain employment; Guglielmo Castelli, the Turin-based painter, is bringing his first major institutional exhibition Improving Songs for Anxious Children to the city’s Palazzetto Tito; and Francesca Amfitheatrof, artistic director of watches and jewellery at Louis Vuitton, has joined the legendary Casa Codognato as its new head of creative. The house of Codognato is as cult-like as it is ancient, a fabulous confluence of gothic, baroque and religious inspirations that has been operating under the same family since 1866. Maria Shollenbarger went to its new store, just off St Mark’s Square, as it prepares for a new chapter. Don’t worry, it’s one in which snakes, skulls and massive crucifixes still abound.
Lastly, I was beyond thrilled to interview Cillian Murphy as he capped off an epic awards season: our last conversation for this week’s cover story took place two days after he picked up an Academy Award. I’ve known Cillian for nearly 30 years now – I partly owe my husband to him – and I’m inordinately proud of him. He’s one of the most talented and least affected actors in the world.
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